Entity location management using vehicle logistics information

ABSTRACT

Physical location information for a specified user is corrected according to vehicle location and trajectory analysis. Vehicles, such as delivery vehicles, produce physical location information for the vehicle during delivery events to the specified user and a surrounding physical area. The physical location information for the vehicle is accessed to correct erroneous physical location information for the specified user.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of geo-location,and more particularly to data accuracy.

A third-party logistics provider (abbreviated 3PL, or sometimes TPL) isa firm that provides service to its customers with outsourced logisticsservices for supply chain management functions. In both production and3PL enterprises, strategic planning (e.g., facility location) andoperational planning (e.g., delivery process) depend on precise customerlocation information.

Imprecise customer location information effects the delivery sequenceand the total cost computation for 3PL performance. It is known tocontact each customer prior to delivery to seek customer locationinformation; however, even the customer will not always provide theprecise location information needed to efficiently deliver goods to thecustomer.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present invention, a method, a computer programproduct, and a system includes: identifying a first location data setincluding a first proposed physical location of a first entity,receiving a set of vehicle location data including a set of vehiclelocations over time generated during traversal of a service route thatincludes a first service stop at a first known physical location of thefirst entity, analyzing the set of vehicle location data to determine avehicle location during the service stop, determining a deviation valuebased, at least in part, on a variation between the first proposedphysical location of the first entity and the vehicle location duringthe service stop, responsive to the deviation value exceeding athreshold deviation value, designating the first location data set as anincorrect location data set, and reporting the incorrect location dataset for a corrective action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of a system accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first embodiment method performed, atleast in part, by the first embodiment system;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a machine logic (for example, software)portion of the first embodiment system; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a second embodiment of a method according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Physical location information for a specified user is correctedaccording to vehicle location and trajectory analysis. Vehicles, such asdelivery vehicles, produce physical location information for the vehicleduring delivery events to the specified user and a surrounding physicalarea. The physical location information for the vehicle is accessed tocorrect erroneous physical location information for the specified user.The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium, or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network, and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network, and forwards the computer readableprogram instructions for storage in a computer readable storage mediumwithin the respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer,or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture, including instructions which implement aspectsof the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagramblock or blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus, or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions, or acts, or carry out combinations of special purposehardware and computer instructions.

The present invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe Figures. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating variousportions of networked computers system 100, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, including: locator sub-system 102;client sub-system 104; current customer location information store 105;service provider sub-system 110; corrected customer location informationstore 111; vehicle sub-systems 106, 108, and 112; global positioningsystem (GPS) 113; vehicle trajectory history store 115; communicationnetwork 114; locator computer 200; communication unit 202; processor set204; input/output (I/O) interface set 206; memory device 208; persistentstorage device 210; display device 212; external device set 214; randomaccess memory (RAM) devices 230; cache memory device 232; and locatorprogram 300.

Sub-system 102 is, in many respects, representative of the variouscomputer sub-system(s) in the present invention. Accordingly, severalportions of sub-system 102 will now be discussed in the followingparagraphs.

Sub-system 102 may be a laptop computer, tablet computer, netbookcomputer, personal computer (PC), a desktop computer, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a smart phone, or any programmable electronic devicecapable of communicating with the client sub-systems via network 114.Program 300 is a collection of machine readable instructions and/or datathat is used to create, manage, and control certain software functionsthat will be discussed in detail below.

Sub-system 102 is capable of communicating with other computersub-systems via network 114. Network 114 can be, for example, a localarea network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, or acombination of the two, and can include wired, wireless, or fiber opticconnections. In general, network 114 can be any combination ofconnections and protocols that will support communications betweenserver and client sub-systems.

Sub-system 102 is shown as a block diagram with many double arrows.These double arrows (no separate reference numerals) represent acommunications fabric, which provides communications between variouscomponents of sub-system 102. This communications fabric can beimplemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/orcontrol information between processors (such as microprocessors,communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheraldevices, and any other hardware component within a system. For example,the communications fabric can be implemented, at least in part, with oneor more buses.

Memory 208 and persistent storage 210 are computer readable storagemedia. In general, memory 208 can include any suitable volatile ornon-volatile computer readable storage media. It is further noted that,now and/or in the near future: (i) external device(s) 214 may be able tosupply, some or all, memory for sub-system 102; and/or (ii) devicesexternal to sub-system 102 may be able to provide memory for sub-system102.

Program 300 is stored in persistent storage 210 for access and/orexecution by one or more of the respective computer processors 204,usually through one or more memories of memory 208. Persistent storage210: (i) is at least more persistent than a signal in transit; (ii)stores the program (including its soft logic and/or data), on a tangiblemedium (such as magnetic or optical domains); and (iii) is substantiallyless persistent than permanent storage. Alternatively, data storage maybe more persistent and/or permanent than the type of storage provided bypersistent storage 210.

Program 300 may include both machine readable and performableinstructions, and/or substantive data (that is, the type of data storedin a database). In this particular embodiment, persistent storage 210includes a magnetic hard disk drive. To name some possible variations,persistent storage 210 may include a solid state hard drive, asemiconductor storage device, read-only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, or any othercomputer readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 210 may also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive may be used for persistent storage 210.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage210.

Communications unit 202, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices external to sub-system102. In these examples, communications unit 202 includes one or morenetwork interface cards. Communications unit 202 may providecommunications through the use of either, or both, physical and wirelesscommunications links. Any software modules discussed herein may bedownloaded to a persistent storage device (such as persistent storagedevice 210) through a communications unit (such as communications unit202).

I/O interface set 206 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected locally in data communication withcomputer 200. For example, I/O interface set 206 provides a connectionto external device set 214. External device set 214 will typicallyinclude devices such as a keyboard, keypad, a touch screen, and/or someother suitable input device. External device set 214 can also includeportable computer readable storage media such as, for example, thumbdrives, portable optical or magnetic disks, and memory cards. Softwareand data used to practice embodiments of the present invention, forexample, program 300, can be stored on such portable computer readablestorage media. In these embodiments the relevant software may (or maynot) be loaded, in whole or in part, onto persistent storage device 210via I/O interface set 206. I/O interface set 206 also connects in datacommunication with display device 212.

Display device 212 provides a mechanism to display data to a user andmay be, for example, a computer monitor or a smart phone display screen.

The programs described herein are identified based upon the applicationfor which they are implemented in a specific embodiment of the presentinvention. However, it should be appreciated that any particular programnomenclature herein is used merely for convenience, and thus the presentinvention should not be limited to use solely in any specificapplication identified and/or implied by such nomenclature.

Locator program 300 operates to improve a set of customer locationinformation by monitoring third party logistics vehicle locations (forexample, via GPS 113) and corresponding vehicle trajectories whenapproaching a specified customer location as part of a route, such asfor delivering goods. The vehicle location information data set isprocessed with available customer location information to determinewhether or not the available customer location information is correctaccording to a threshold value representing deviation between the twolocations. Where available customer location information deemed to beincorrect, a correction process follows, which results in a correctionreport. Some embodiments of the locator program automatically correctthe available customer location information according to the correctionreport.

Available customer location information refers to information availableto the user for locating a particular customer, or set of customers. Theinformation may be provided by a client on behalf of the customer or bythe customer itself. Further, the location information may be obtainedby access to the Internet, business phone directory, promotional flyer,and other publicly and/or privately available sources.

Some embodiments of the present invention recognize the following facts,potential problems and/or potential areas for improvement with respectto the current state of the art: (i) oftentimes, a productionenterprise, using 3PL to deliver its products to customers can onlyprovide customer locations with incomplete or incorrect information;(ii) enterprises are not committed to confirm the location informationfor customers; (iii) failure of the enterprise to provide precisecustomer location information leads to project delays and otherinconveniences for the customers; and/or (iv) logistics vehicletrajectories can reflect the exact locations of customers.

Some embodiments of the present invention leverage a large volume ofhistorical vehicle trajectory data (shown, for example, as trajectoryhistory 115) generated by delivery vehicles regularly approaching theprecise location of the customer. Some embodiments of the presentinvention find patterns during delivery of goods according to vehicletrajectories and the customer location information data set(s) providedby clients, such as from current customer location information store 105located at client 104.

Some embodiments of the present invention obtain delivery sequenceinformation for various customers during the delivery process performedby various vehicles, such as vehicles 106, 108, and 112. The deliverysequence information is stored as historic location information (seetrajectory history 115). The set sequence information may be referred toas a sequence data set.

FIG. 2 shows flowchart 250 depicting a first method according to thepresent invention. FIG. 3 shows program 300 for performing at least someof the method steps of flowchart 250. This method and associatedsoftware will now be discussed, over the course of the followingparagraphs, with extensive reference to FIG. 2 (for the method stepblocks) and FIG. 3 (for the software blocks).

Processing begins at step S255, where current location module (“mod”)355 receives current customer location information. It should be notedthat the term “current” customer location information is to bedistinguished from “available” customer location information in that thecurrent information may be modified or otherwise updated according tosome level of analytics such that the nature of the information is notnecessarily the same as available customer location information. In thisexample, current customer location information 105 is received whenservice provider 110 receives from client 104 an order for delivery ofgoods. The service provider is a subscriber of a locator service thatpractices an example embodiment of the present invention via locatorsub-system 102 operating locator program 300. Alternatively, the serviceprovider practices an embodiment of the present invention and thecustomer location information is received by the current location moddirectly from the customer when the order is placed.

Processing proceeds to step S260, where route mod 360 monitors vehicleroute(s) for apparent customer location information. In this example,the route mod monitors the location of vehicle 112 as reported by GPS113 while the vehicle traverses a delivery route that includes adelivery to client 104. In this example, events monitored by the routemod are stored in trajectory history 115. Alternatively, locationinformation related to the vehicle is obtained by other positioningtechniques now known or to be known in the future.

Processing proceeds to step S265, where incorrect location mod 365identifies incorrect customer location information. As discussed herein,incorrect location information often exists in available customerlocation information, which prevents services from effectively planningroutes. In this example, the trajectory history provides both locationand trajectory paths for each vehicle. By analyzing the trajectory fromwhere the vehicle came as it approached the customer location inquestion as well as the location where the vehicle stopped, or otherwiseindicated arrival at the physical customer location, the incorrectlocation module identifies discrepancies, or deviations, from theexpected route and/or stop. The expected route being the route accordingto the available customer location information. In this example, thecustomer locations are closely located with other locations, so theamount of deviation to trigger an incorrect location event is 30 feet.The allowable deviation value will vary in both units and distanceaccording to the region where it is applied and/or the userpreference/policy. When an incorrect location event is triggered, thecorresponding customer location is tagged as being “incorrect.” In someembodiments of the present invention, the action of tagging a customerlocation as incorrect drives an immediate response of working out acorrection. Alternatively, those locations tagged as incorrect arecollected over time and addressed periodically or when a particularnumber of tags are generated.

Processing proceeds to step S270, where corrected location mod 370,determines corrected customer location information. In this example,determining the corrected location information relies on both trajectoryinformation and position information stored in trajectory history 115(FIG. 1). In addition to working with the trajectory history store,other sets of location information that are considered to be correct areused to establish a confidence level for the trajectory store associatedwith any given vehicle from which the trajectory and positioninformation was taken. In this example, the confidence level is one of0.0, 0.5, and 1.0. A confidence of 1.0 is the highest and indicates astrong repeatable correlation between vehicle trajectory data andservice stops at correctly identified customer locations. By reviewingreliable vehicle location data corresponding to a known good location,the location data from the same vehicle at incorrect locations, a rangeof possible actual locations can be determined. Additional vehicle dataand/or stop data at a location tagged as being incorrect as to thelocation information is useful in narrowing down the location of thecustomer in question. Further discussion of determining correct locationinformation is found below with respect to FIG. 4.

Processing ends at step S275, where report mod 375 reports correctedcustomer location information for verification. In this example, priorto replacing incorrect customer location information with correctedcustomer location information, the corrected information is verified bya verification process. The verification process will vary according toavailable resources, individual preferences, and even corporate policy.However, in this example, the verification process involves storing thecorrected information in corrected customer information store 111 (FIG.1). When a next approach to a corrected customer location will be madeby a vehicle, the corrected customer location information will be usedas a reference to determine whether or not the actual location of thevehicle corresponds with the corrected location information for thecustomer. If the locations match within a pre-determined distance, thecorrected location information is verified. Alternatively, vehicletrajectory data is collected over a period of time. When the collectionperiod ends, the corrected location information for one or morecustomers is processed in view of the new trajectory data. If noincorrect tags are applied during analysis, the set of correctedcustomer location information is verified. Alternatively, apre-determined number of stops at a corrected customer location isrequired before validation is complete.

While the process in FIG. 2 ends at the above step, upon verification,the current customer location information may be automatically correctedaccording to an agreement between the service provided and the client.Alternatively, automatic correction may be performed by the serviceprovided to a set of customer location information stored for use infuture location information analysis (not shown).

Further embodiments of the present invention are discussed in theparagraphs that follow and later with reference to FIG. 4.

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to a process thatincludes: using map-matching techniques on raw GPS data from logisticsvehicles during the delivery process to obtain the vehicle trajectories;using vehicle routing optimization techniques to label those customershaving potentially incorrect location information; comparing logisticsvehicle trajectories for trajectory dissimilarity to understand thespecific delivery sequence for two customers; gradually updating theavailable customer location information according to the specificdelivery sequences; and verifying the resulting customer locationinformation.

In this example process, the input may include, for example: (i) raw GPSdata of logistics vehicles; (ii) visiting customer list of each vehicle,but without delivery sequence due to poorly designed ERP; (iii) hardcopies of delivery information (most of the delivery information is notstored in a database); (iv) raw customer location information, part ofthe data included in the information may be incorrect.

Representative output of this example process may include, for example:(i) updated customer location information, defined by a set of roadsegments on a GIS map.

FIG. 4 shows flowchart 400 depicting a second method for correcting aset of incorrect customer location information according to anembodiment of the present invention. This method will now be discussed,over the course of the following paragraphs, with extensive reference toFIG. 4 (for the method step blocks).

Processing begins at step S402, where the GPS of a vehicle recordslocation data, which is stored as a historic record of vehicletrajectories.

Processing proceeds to step S404, where a map is generated that displaysthe location of a customer according to the available customer locationinformation.

Processing proceeds to step S406, where a deviation index is calculatedwith respect to the mapped customer location(s) and the correspondingvehicle trajectories stored in the historic record. Incorrect customerlocation information is identified with reference to the deviationindex. Some embodiments of the present invention operate according to athreshold deviation index value to identify which available customerlocation information is sufficiently incorrect to prompt a correctiveaction.

Processing proceeds to step S408, where incorrect customer locations arelabelled according to a deviation index computed in step S406. As statedabove, the determination that available customer location information isincorrect may be based on any number of preference-based thresholdsand/or other comparative criteria. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, when available customer location information meets athreshold for being considered incorrect, the customer location islabelled a “high risk customer.”

One example process for determining a “high risk customer” follows.First, compare the vehicle trajectory with raw data of customerlocation. Next, for each customer location that deviates from thevehicle trajectory more than a given threshold, record a value, such asa whole number or fraction, to denote the degree to which the customerlocation deviates from historical vehicle trajectories (e.g., just use acounter to count the number of vehicles that do not pass the customer).Then, label the possible customers with “incorrect location” based onthe given criteria. Finally, rank the labelled customers according totheir corresponding recorded value.

Processing proceeds to step S410, where corrected customer locationinformation is computed. In this example, the computation includes threesub-steps. Sub-step S412 computes the vehicle trajectory confidencelevel. In that way, the recorded vehicle trajectory, as stored in thehistoric record, is validated against secondary data including, forexample, daily route assignments, delivery schedule, and otherindicators of what the vehicle trajectory might have been.

Sub-step S414 computes the possible location of the customer bynarrowing down the customer location range based on received data, suchas available customer location information. Finally, in this example,sub-step S416 analyzes the vehicle trajectory data to determine a set ofdelivery sequence information. or delivery sequence data set. In thisexample, the set of delivery sequence information is derived in part bytaking into account the direction from which the vehicle approaches thecustomer location range, computed in sub-step S414.

One example process for computing corrected customer locationinformation follows. First, select the customer location associated withthe highest rank. Second, identify the vehicle trajectories that deliverto, or otherwise approach, the customer to compute their individualconfidence levels and relative dissimilarities among the set oftrajectories. Third, for pair of trajectories, locate theirintersection, or overlapping portion(s), to decrease the possible roadsegment set. Finally, use the GPS interval and the size of shipment tofurther decrease the possible road segment set. For each customerlocation, collect the corresponding confidence level of alltrajectories. Note that the confidence level, in this example, is thenumber of customer locations labelled as an “incorrect location” dividedby the total number of customer locations in the given vehicletrajectory. If one of the customer locations has already been updated,its location may be multiplied with an index that is less than 1. For apair of trajectories for a customer location, compute a correspondingdissimilarity. Note that the dissimilarity, in this example, is thenumber of customer locations in both trajectories divided by the totalnumber of distinct customer locations in the pair of trajectories.

Some embodiments of the present invention address a scenario where eachof the customer locations in a particular set of customer locations isincorrect. Where that scenario arises, one approach is to select acustomer location that is associated with the most vehicle trajectorieshaving relatively high confidence levels. In that way, the “best”information is identified and forms the basis of correcting the otherincorrect customer locations.

Processing proceeds to step S418, where the available customer locationinformation is updated to create corrected customer locationinformation. In this example corrected customer location information isstored in a customer information store as available customer locationinformation. Alternatively, corrected customer location information isstored separately from unprocessed available customer locationinformation. In that way, routine maintenance of available customerlocation information is performed without destroying the correctedcustomer location information, which may be considered superior to anygenerally available customer location information.

Processing ends at step S420, where corrected customer locationinformation is verified as being precise and accurate. In this example,where corrected customer location information is stored along with otheravailable customer location information, an update record is maintainedfor verification of the corrected data. When vehicle trajectoriesindicate that a vehicle has approached a customer location associatedwith updated, or corrected, data, the customer location is verifiedagainst the historic record. Alternatively, corrected customer locationinformation is first stored in temporary storage until a matchingvehicle trajectory can verify the actual customer location against thecorrected data. Upon verification, the corrected customer locationinformation is stored either as available customer location informationor as verified customer location information, depending on userpreference or, perhaps, corporate policy.

Some embodiments of the present invention use vehicle routingoptimization to verify the corrected customer location information. Forexample, for each candidate position of a “high-risk customer,” theprocess is as follows. First, locate the first candidate position, thenfind vehicle trajectories that deliver to, or otherwise approach, theactual customer location. Using a process of “vehicle routingoptimization,” obtain the “best” route for delivery to the actualcustomer location. Finally, compare the “best” route with a vehicletrajectory corresponding to the customer location to generate a ratingfor the candidate position.

Some embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method ofautomatically correcting available customer location information basedon the trajectories of logistics vehicles. An example process includesthe following steps: (i) matching the GPS to road segments; (ii)labelling the possible customers with incorrect location; (iii)correcting the available customer location information based onconfidence level(s) of vehicle trajectories while continuously learningfrom the delivery sequence(s) generated during delivery events; and (iv)verifying corrected customer location information.

Some embodiments of the present invention employ one or more apparatusin the following list: (i) map matcher; (ii) customer location labeler;(iii) customer location corrector based on trajectory and deliverysequence; and (iv) customer location verifier.

Some embodiments of the present invention may include one, or more, ofthe following features, characteristics and/or advantages: (i) tracksthe nature of the physical stress subjected to component hardware; (ii)tracks the overall usage of a hardware component from date ofmanufacture; (iii) tracks the types of environments and/or conditions inwhich a hardware component is used; (iv) a mechanism to detect thephysical stress, usage instances, and/or activities and conditions thataffect the lifetime, fatigue and performance of the hardware component;(v) reduces unnecessary expenditure incurred in premature hardwarereplacements due to faulty analysis; (vi) simplifies service planning;and/or (vii) reduces outages in data centers of ever increasing size.

Some embodiments of the present invention may include one, or more, ofthe following features, characteristics and/or advantages: (i) leveragesGPS data of logistics vehicles used by 3PL providers to preciselydetermine customer location information; and/or (ii) applies vehiclerouting information to identify potentially incorrect customer locationinformation.

Some helpful definitions follow:

Present invention: should not be taken as an absolute indication thatthe subject matter described by the term “present invention” is coveredby either the claims as they are filed, or by the claims that mayeventually issue after patent prosecution; while the term “presentinvention” is used to help the reader to get a general feel for whichdisclosures herein that are believed as maybe being new, thisunderstanding, as indicated by use of the term “present invention,” istentative and provisional and subject to change over the course ofpatent prosecution as relevant information is developed and as theclaims are potentially amended.

Embodiment: see definition of “present invention” above—similar cautionsapply to the term “embodiment.”

and/or: inclusive or; for example, A, B “and/or” C means that at leastone of A or B or C is true and applicable.

User/subscriber: includes, but is not necessarily limited to, thefollowing: (i) a single individual human; (ii) an artificialintelligence entity with sufficient intelligence to act as a user orsubscriber; and/or (iii) a group of related users or subscribers.

Module/Sub-Module: any set of hardware, firmware and/or software thatoperatively works to do some kind of function, without regard to whetherthe module is: (i) in a single local proximity; (ii) distributed over awide area; (iii) in a single proximity within a larger piece of softwarecode; (iv) located within a single piece of software code; (v) locatedin a single storage device, memory or medium; (vi) mechanicallyconnected; (vii) electrically connected; and/or (viii) connected in datacommunication.

Computer: any device with significant data processing and/or machinereadable instruction reading capabilities including, but not limited to:desktop computers, mainframe computers, laptop computers,field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based devices, smart phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), body-mounted or inserted computers,embedded device style computers, application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC) based devices.

Service vehicle: any vehicle, motorized or otherwise, that is used totraverse a route that includes at least one service stop. Examples ofservice vehicles include delivery vehicles, mail carrier vehicles,maintenance vehicles, and medical services vehicles.

Service stop: any location within a vehicle route where services arerendered by at least pausing the movement of the vehicle so thatservices may be provided. Examples of service stops include maildelivery stops where the mail carrier vehicle briefly pauses are amailbox to deliver mail, delivery stops where goods are delivered to aphysical location, and medical services stops where, for example, homenursing services are provided at a location(s) according to a specifiedroute. The duration required for a service stop may be defined by thetechnology of the location tracking service(s), which is to recognizethe service stop at an identifiable location.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for improvingstrategic and operational planning by maintaining an updated customerlocation database, the computer program product comprising anon-volatile computer readable storage medium having stored thereon:first program instructions programmed to identify a location data setincluding a proposed physical location of a first entity; second programinstructions programmed to receive a set of vehicle location data from aplurality of GPS-monitored service vehicles generated during traversalof a plurality of service routes including one or more road segments,each service route including a service stop at a known physical locationof the first entity; third program instructions programmed to, for eachservice vehicle of the plurality of GPS-monitored service vehicles,assign a confidence level based at least in part on a set of vehiclelocations during the service stop, the confidence level corresponding toa degree to which the set of vehicle locations are at a same location;fourth program instructions programmed to analyze a sub-set of vehiclelocation data corresponding to a set of service vehicles assigned athreshold confidence level to determine an apparent customer location;fifth program instructions programmed to determine a deviation valuebased, at least in part, on a variation between the proposed physicallocation and the apparent customer location; sixth program instructionsprogrammed to, responsive to the deviation value exceeding a thresholddeviation value, designate the location data set as an incorrectlocation data set; seventh program instructions programmed to generate acorrected location data set based, at least in part, on the incorrectlocation data set and the apparent customer location; and eighth programinstructions programmed to verify the corrected location data set asbeing accurate by a new variation between the corrected location dataset and a new vehicle location received from a vehicle assigned athreshold confidence level at the service stop not exceeding thethreshold deviation value; wherein: the threshold deviation value is anallowable service stop variation according to a proximity of neighboringentities.